I teach business and there are not many times that I expect my students to generate and test hypotheses. In some of my classes students will predict what will happen, but it is difficult to test theories when business is pretty black and white. So, I guess since I find it difficult to hypothesize in my classroom it is difficult to think about what technologies could be used.
What kind of technologies can I use to help students identify similarities and differences?
I do this often in my Personal Finance class. Just recently we compared banks and credit unions, debit cards and credit cards. In the past we have compared saving and investing. When doing this I encourage the students to use a graphic organizer to sort out their thoughts. It is very easy to use Microsoft Word to create a Venn Diagram to use.
What kind of technologies can I use to help students with homework and practice?
I have had students use many different technologies for homework and practice. Often I use spreadsheets in accounting for financial statements, journalizing, posting, and creating a worksheet. I also use spreadsheets in Personal Finance when the students are creating a budget. First, we create a budget together in class and then they are expected to create a similar budget for themselves. Currently, in my Entrepreneurship class, students are creating a new cereal. They create a new box and design a magazine ad and television commercial. The students are using goanimate or xtranormal for their television commercials and Microsoft Publisher for their magazine ads. The Entrepreneurship students are also using Google docs for many of their assignments.
I like how you attempt to generate and test hypotheses in your class. I know it was a generation ago, but when I was my high school economics class, my teacher had a program that let the students run a "pencil company". We had to use our knowledge of economic theory that we had learned in the class to be able to pick the type of wood, how many to create, the price we would sell them at, and how much to spend on different types of marketing campaigns. I am not sure if this was a program that my teacher wrote or if it was a program that was available to educators, but it took into account many different variables such as price point, the other products available in the market (the other student groups products), etc. This really drove home the points that my teacher was attempting for us to learn. Price for goods, material and marketing as well as consumer demand for the specific product all determine how well a product will do on the market and how a business is able to make a profit on it.
ReplyDeleteI have taught PFM in the past and one of my favorite things was getting the students to think about the differences of financial options. I used to have them use graphic organizers and web maps like Inspiration. There are a lot of different topics to compare in the area of finance as you stated above. I liked having them compare the cost of using credit cards with various interest rates. That may be something you would like to do with your students if you aren't doing it already.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bill! That's great!
ReplyDeleteI like the use of spreadsheets as a way to teach students about budgets. Do you actually have them manager their money using the spreadsheets? That might make the lesson more relevant and help the students to retain the lesson. If you use add some investment exercises, the students might also be able to test hypotheses. For example. "I think I will get a better return in the stock market than if I invest in gold." A spreadsheet could be used to track the prices of their investments.
ReplyDeleteI like your creating a new cereal project. What a great way to use technology by having them create a commercial. I'm going to have to take a look at the programs you are using. Do you find they are easy to use? We use macs in our district so the students have access to photo booth and iMovie. I wonder how they compare. Do you evaluate the students using a rubric?
ReplyDeleteJust as you have had students create TV and magazine ads for a new cereal in your entrepreneurship class, I often have my students create their own “Rock Videos” in my Earth Science class. Students of course have a rubric which tells them what components they will be graded on and what is to be included in their videos in order to receive certain grades, but the kids really seem to let loose on this project every year. Students form groups, brainstorm, write a script using Microsoft Word, and video tape themselves using a mini DV, school camcorder or even a Flip Phones and make their commercials at home. Some even edit it with graphics and add music using Imovie or Moviemaker. They then have to hand in their written script and either a VHS tape or DVD and show their final video to the class and take questions from other students. After all the groups have shown their videos we vote on and give away prizes for our classroom “Grammys”.
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